On Thursday, the 2024 Phillies will charge onto the field in front of a rabid, sold-out Citizens Bank Park crowd, the first of 162 attempts this season to put themselves in the best position possible to win the National League East and scale a World Series mountain they failed to ascend last fall.
Over the weekend, the team made several moves that appear to have finalized who those players will be, all of which were discussed on the latest episode of Hittin’ Season.
Johan Rojas makes the Opening Day roster
In the end, the Phillies decided Rojas’ elite defense in center field provided more value than any struggles he may have offensively will take away.
Rojas has been working on a number of swing changes urged by hitting coach Kevin Long, and the results this spring haven’t been pretty, at least in terms of the numbers: a .170 batting average, .200 on-base percentage, and .464 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). But manager Rob Thomson believes having him in center to start on Opening Day makes them a better team than with him working on his swing changes in the minors.
That meant only one outfield bench job was available, with Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Whit Merrifield the other three outfielders guaranteed jobs. On Sunday, the team traded left-handed hitting veteran Jake Cave to the Colorado Rockies for cash considerations.
Cave was derided by most Phillies’ fans during his tenure here, but many thought he’d make the team as the left-handed bench bat after hitting .324 this spring with three doubles in 38 plate appearances. He was not good with the big league club last season (.212 average, .620 OPS) after tearing apart AAA pitching and made the final out of the season in Game 7 of the NLCS against Arizona.
Well, at least we’ll have the memories.
Instead, the team decided to go with right-handed hitting Christian Pache for the final outfield spot. Pache is young (just 25) and also plays very good defense in center field. He acts as a safety net in case Rojas is overwhelmed by big league pitching to the point his confidence is shaken and he needs to be sent down. It does leave the Phils without a left-handed hitting bench bat outside of back-up catcher Garrett Stubbs, although Brandon Marsh would provide that on days Whit Merrifield starts in left field and Merrifield has traditionally hit right-handed pitching well.
Both Pache and Cave were “out of options,” which means the Phillies could not send either to AAA. Had they not traded Cave, he would have been designated for assignment, as would have Pache had they not kept him on the big league roster.
Taijuan Walker on the injured list
The Phillies’ No. 4 or 5 starter (depending on how good you think Christopher Sanchez is) will start the season on the 15-day injured list after throwing a bullpen session over the weekend in which he told team officials he didn’t feel right. Walker’s velocity in his first three starts of the spring was in the neighborhood of 89-91 mph. Last year, he averaged 92.6 mph, and that velocity was also down from 93 mph in 2022 and 94 in ‘21.
In 4 and 2/3 innings this spring, Walker started two official games (the second of his three “starts” was in a scrimmage) and gave up eight earned runs while allowing three homers, walking four and striking out four, with an ERA of 15.43. It comes on the heels of a disappointing 2023 in which he won 15 games but posted a 4.38 ERA in 31 starts and did not pitch a single inning in the 2023 playoffs.
Walker’s trip to the IL means free agent signee Spencer Turnbull will start the sixth game of the season for the Phillies, and will likely get 4-5 starts during his time in the starting rotation. He posted a 2.25 ERA in eight spring innings, striking out 12 and walking just two. The 31-year-old has been beset by injuries since throwing a no-hitter for the Tigers in 2021, missing most of the ‘21 season after throwing that no-no and then all of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He suffered multiple injuries last year and logged just 31 innings in seven starts for Detroit, with a 7.26 ERA.
There have been rumors indicating Walker’s injury could mean the Phillies make a late run at free agent starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery. Here’s why I don’t think that has much of a chance of happening.
Orion Kerkering on the injured list
The young right-handed fireballer has not pitched much this spring due to a slow recovery from the flu that kept him on the sideline for three weeks. Kerkering should be ready to go by the second week of the season, but with Turnbull moving to the rotation, that opened up three bullpen spots for the start of the season.
Luis Ortiz and Yunior Marte both pitched exceedingly well this spring and the hard-throwing righties nabbed two of those jobs. The third went to Connor Brogdon, who had a solid season in 2022 and pitched some big moments during the team’s run to the World Series, but spent most of last season in Lehigh Valley and was up-and-down in Clearwater. However, Brogdon also was without options and would have been designated for assignment had he not made the Opening Day roster.
Still, when Kerkering is ready to return, it’s like Brogdon will be DFA’d, although it’s likely he’d clear waivers and be reassigned to the minors.
The Phillies could still make a late move this week as more teams finalize rosters and a left-handed bench bat or reliever becomes available, but chances are, we know who will start the season at CBP on Thursday on Opening Day.
